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nightingaelic · 3 years

Note

Reactions to a vampire courier? Companions plus Benny, Ulysses, Graham, House, Caesar, and Yes Man. (sorry if that's too many :x)

TW: Blood (maybe obviously)

Also I don't normally feel some type of way about AUs but the idea of Joshua Graham encountering a vampire courier is giving me shivers

The courier was a little... strange. Not in any way that stood out to the average wastelander just by looking at them, everyone in the Mojave had their quirks and the courier was no exception. Hell, you get shot in the head and come back, you're bound to have a screw or two loose. They were unquestionably a night owl, but so were half the people on the Strip, who only started to wake up after the sun had gone down and the slot machines were singing their loudest. They usually had bags under their bloodshot eyes, but every caravan driver from here to the Hub was short on sleep.

On the other hand, the courier had some habits that were a little beyond surface-level eccentricities. For one, no one had ever seen them eating, not once. Even when the King laid out a spread of pre-war snacks and liquor or when the buffet at the Tops was refreshed, they politely declined and took a swig from the canteen that they never offered to anyone else. They were also rather odd about bathrooms, insisting that anyone accompanying them remain outside on watch and let no one else through the door until they were finished. But the undeniable moment of oddity came one night in October, when their companion rounded a corner in Freeside after a trip to the Atomic Wrangler and discovered the courier behind a rusted dumpster, holding a man against a brick wall with their teeth buried in his neck.

The courier drew back at the interruption, blood smeared across their face. "I'm not- it's not what- he- oh, fuck."

Arcade Gannon: Arcade stared open-mouthed for a moment, before snapping violently back into the present. "Is he dead?"

"Umm..." The courier glanced at the man they were holding, whose head was lolling against the bricks. "Yes? Mostly."

With no patient to resuscitate, Arcade rounded on them. "Six, what in the ever-loving fuck are you doing?"

The courier tried to wipe away the blood that was dribbling from their chin, but they only succeeded in spreading it up their jawline. "Well, I, um, I was trying to..."

Whatever excuse they were searching for eluded them, so they dropped the pretense. "I was feeding, Arcade."

"Feeding? What, like some kind of-" Arcade's eyes widened and he cut his sentence off early in realization. "No. No way. That's not- vampires aren't real!"

That earned him a look of intense skepticism. "Arcade, we've fought off plant monsters and rattlesnake-coyote hybrids together. I have a gun in my pack that lets me teleport."

"Oh, okay, so you have some kind of iron deficiency and you're delusional." Arcade laughed, the sound high and harsh in the quiet alley. "Great. Fuck."

Craig Boone: Rather than engage in an abandoned alley, Boone immediately backtracked to a busier street. He was unsurprised when the courier didn't follow him: Even in Freeside, someone covered in blood was sure to be noticed and questioned.

Boone left town that night and made for Novac. He was pretty sure the courier would follow him, but he didn't know where else to go. At least he knew they were coming. A few people in Novac asked about where he'd been, what the courier was up to, but eventually they stopped asking.

A couple of weeks went by. Boone was on the night shift again when the door into the dinosaur swung open to reveal the courier. He'd heard someone coming, their feet on the stairs, and he already had his gun pointed in their face. "We will never work together again," he said, before they could open their mouth.

"Boone, can you just-"

"I don't want an explanation." Boone shook his head. "I don't need one. I already did you a favor, leaving New Vegas without putting you back in your grave. This is over."

The courier took a deep breath. "71."

"What?"

"71. I've killed 71 Legion soldiers and left their bodies empty under the Mojave sky." They looked down and shuffled their feet. "I've tasted their fear. They're more scared of me than the Burned Man, now."

Boone studied them. Ever so slowly, he lowered his gun.

Lily Bowen: "Put him down, dearie," Lily chastised them. "You're playing too roughly with that man. And watch your language around your grandma!"

The courier looked down at their victim, at their torn throat and limp limbs. "He tried to mug me, Lily. It wasn't pretty."

"He looks like he's had enough," Lily insisted. "Set him down. Gently."

With a sigh, the courier obliged and lowered the man to the ground. "I'm sorry, Lily. I should have told you earlier. I don't mean to be rude when I turn down your cooking, I just... I can't seem to..."

"Hush, now." Lily produced her enormous handkerchief and gathered the courier up in her arms, dabbing at the blood on their face with a corner of the cloth. "You've gotten it all over yourself, haven't you? We can clean that right up, but it looks like Grandma's going to have to do a load of laundry. You made the mess, so you get to help."

Raul Alfonso Tejada: Raul swallowed nervously, something he'd noticed he was increasingly doing around the courier. "You know, we get murciélagos down in Arizona that do the same thing. They won't leave the brahmin alone."

The courier took in his anxious stance and sighed. "Raul, I'm not going to hurt you. Prometo. It's okay."

"Sure boss, but I don't think the hair on the back of my neck is going down anytime soon." Raul smiled, but it was more of a grimace. "Or it wouldn't, if I still had any. Como..?"

"No clue." The courier shrugged and held their hands up, letting the corpse they'd been holding slide to the ground. "I think it had something to do with me surviving Benny's best attempts to do me in, but a bullet is a bullet and I don't remember if I was like this before, or..."

"Or only after." Raul chuckled. "Jesucristo, and here I am thinking I'll outlive you like most everyone else I've known."

"Yep."

"Should I start calling you el chupacabra?"

The courier grinned, a bloody smile with sharp teeth.

Rose of Sharon Cassidy: "Fuck," Cass echoed, scrambling to pull her shotgun from its holster. "Knew I had too much, can't even- who are you and what've you done with the courier? Some kind of cannibal, wearing their skin? Alien? Shapeshifter? I'll blow a hole in your liver to match mine!"

"Whoa, Cass, it's me, it's me!" The courier dropped the man they were holding and held their blood-stained hands up. "Same old Six, just... maybe I wasn't straight with you about why I don't order anything at bars."

"Goddamn right you weren't straight with me!" Cass gestured at the body on the ground with the barrel of her gun. "Who's the fucker on the floor and why are you two pints in on him?"

"Just trying to get my drink on," the courier muttered.

Cass repaid this facetiousness with a jab of her shotgun, and they raised their hands higher. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry! You tell me, how do you tactfully tell someone that you're a creature of the night and you need to drink blood to survive?"

"Creature of the night? You're fucking loopy." Cass' eyes narrowed. "There's plenty of critters in the Mojave that only come out when it's dark, but most of them don't tear into..."

She trailed off into curses when she realized she was wrong. The courier smiled hesitantly and lowered their hands an inch. "Hey. Let me chuck this failed mugger in the dumpster and we can talk about it like a pair of civilized folks?"

Veronica Santangelo: Veronica squeaked and fell back a few steps, banging her elbow against the edge of the dumpster. A jolt of confused pain shot up her arm, and the Scribe couldn't help giggling harshly at the sudden assault on her funny bone.

"Not- laughing... at murder," she managed to get out between hisses of pain. "Oh, for the love of... right, you're not getting out of explaining what you are, exactly, just because I'm indis-indisposed!"

The courier couldn't help laughing at the squirming Scribe, but they did their best to stifle it. "Sorry, I'm sorry, I um... I guess I don't really know... what I am?"

"There's books!" Veronica burst out, pointing at the courier and their victim wildly. "I've seen them, in old libraries. Creatures that feed on blood, only come out at night, don't show up in... in mirrors, of course, no wonder you're weird about bathrooms, I should test... Dracula! That's it, you're a Dracula!"

"A Dracula?" The courier held their hands up, as if seeing them anew. "Never heard of them. Are they... bad?"

"Well, traditionally, yes." Veronica made a face and rubbed her elbow. "Black cloaks, sleeping in coffins, seducing and manipulating everyone around them... and people don't like it when you take their blood, in my experience."

"Whose blood have you taken?"

"This isn't about me, Six!"

ED-E: The eyebot bobbed wildly and made noises of concern, blips and blats and a flat burst of trumpets from some old jazz tune.

"I was hungry," the courier protested. "And this asshole pulled a knife on me and wanted all of my caps. Probably more than that, if we're being honest. He wasn't doing the world any good, but he did me some, for sure."

ED-E flipped between old clips of a Silver Shroud radio show. "Well, isn't this a deep, dark <static> secret? <static> In a situation such as this, the best anyone can do is <static> try to control it!" The robot added some more concerned beeps for good measure.

"I'm trying," the courier said with a sigh, looking down at the dead man they were holding. "You know I wouldn't hurt some random person, ED-E. Not if I could help it. The Mojave's full of bad people, enough to keep me going if I'm careful."

Rex: The hair on Rex's spine stood up, and he let out a long, low growl. The courier froze for a moment, before realizing that he was growling not at them but at the man they were holding.

"He's dead, Rex," they reassured the cyberdog, lowering the corpse to the floor for inspection.

Rex sniffed the body over, taking in the copper scent of his blood and the Freeside stink on his clothes. He sniffed the courier too, each of their hands they held out to him and the thick headiness of adrenaline. He whined and wagged his tail twice.

"Good boy," the courier said, straightening up. "It's about time I turned in, anyway. Let's dump this guy and split."

Benny Gecko: Benny crossed his arms. "You know, Six, if you're dead set on getting your kicks in Freeside every now and then, you might want to ease up on the passions with the next greaser you snag. This one's torn all to pieces."

"I wasn't- what kind of-" The courier dropped the man they were holding and sputtered. "Christ, only you could make a midnight murder awkward, Benny."

"Murder?" Benny raised his eyebrows and looked from side to side theatrically. "Who said anything about a murder? All I saw was some dreamboat and the best apple butterer of New Vegas playing back alley bingo, officer."

The courier's eyes narrowed. "Not gonna rat me out? Tell the King or somebody that I'm..."

"What, taking a page out of the White Glove Society's book?" Benny held his hands up. "None of my business. Well, if you ever come for me with that look in your eyes, though, that'll be a different story."

"Not much you'd be able to do," the courier pointed out. "You already tried and failed to kill me once."

Ulysses: Rather than react like any normal wastelander might've upon encountering someone attacking a man with their teeth, Ulysses just stood there, taking the scene in. "Heard tales of a tribe like you. East, farther east than even I've walked... a coven hiding in tunnels, emerging only when their hungers grow too strong to ignore, strong enough to pull blood from the veins of the world around them."

"Well, I don't hide in tunnels." The courier grimaced and heaved their victim up over their shoulder, depositing them unceremoniously in the dumpster. "Unless some disgruntled Frumentarius sends me out to hunt mutants under Hopeville."

"Perhaps you have more in common with those predators than I assumed," Ulysses admitted. "But then, your path has always run red. Blood of the Old World, blood of the new, blood of the Bull and the Bear..."

The courier rolled their eyes as they peeled off their red-stained coat and tossed it in the dumpster as well. "Don't talk to me about blood. I know you've seen just as much as me, but it doesn't mean the same thing when I look at it."

Ulysses cracked a hint of a smile. "You see life where I see death. Two sides, courier."

"Yeah, yeah. If you're not going to try to kill me, come on. You can wax poetic and lecture me about which road I'm walking while I take a shower."

Joshua Graham: "A creature far from God," Graham said in his most reproachful tone. "Forever damned for the souls of the innocent they've taken from the earth. Aren't we a pair, courier."

"You can fuck right off with that attitude." The courier dropped the man they were holding and wiped their hands on their coat. "He tried to kill me first. For some caps."

"The crimes of others do not absolve you of your own sins, courier," Graham continued, leisurely retrieving his gun from its holster. He held it up in the muted neon light that filtered through the alley, turning the weapon this way and that. "Though I confess I am also looking for absolution in this way."

"Are you going to kill me?" the courier asked, eyeing the gun as well.

"I've no doubt it would leave this world better than when you walked it," Graham replied. "But my own opinions are not enough to seal your fate. Perhaps we should find this man's family and hear their feelings on the matter."

The courier took a step forward, then another, until their chest was right up against the pistol's muzzle, pressed against the fabric of their shirt. "Go ahead. Try."

And though Joshua Graham was sorely tempted to pull the trigger, though the courier made no move to stop him, something in their eyes... some faraway pain, older than the desert itself, fresh as the blood on the ground, stayed his hand.

He lowered the gun, chastised, and the courier walked away.

Robert House: The Securitron that bore Robert House's face on its screen leveled a minigun at the courier. "Whoa!" the courier protested, dropping their victim and putting their hands out. "Can't we talk about this?"

"And what have we to discuss?" House sounded absolutely disgusted. "I believe you're familiar with my contract with the White Glove Society. If they wish to continue their current prosperity in New Vegas, cannibalism is strictly forbidden. You are subject to the same terms and conditions, as one of my employees."

"Terms and condi- hold on, hold on, you never asked me whether I was a cannibal," the courier replied. "Are you talking about that document you had me sign, way back when I agreed to help you fight the NCR and the Legion?"

"The very same."

"How is that fair? That thing was over 200 pages long, I didn't grow up in the 21st century, I don't have a degree in... okay, okay." The courier waved their hands. "Cannibalism is a no-go. This isn't cannibalism, this is vampirism."

"Which falls under the definition of cannibalism," House replied, his annoyed tone still detectable over the sound of the minigun spinning up. "Section 3.65, subsection F. Next time, read the fine print."

Caesar: The Legion's great leader pivoted in an instant from surprise to quiet anger. "Clean yourself up, courier. I expect to see you in my quarters within the hour."

He turned and left the alley swiftly, letting his powerful stride and swinging cloak cover his shaken confidence. The people of Freeside cowered as he passed, shrinking into the shadows as he made his way back to the Strip, but the fear in their eyes was not enough to erase the image of the courier bent over in bloodlust, holding their victim in total subjugation.

The courier found him on the top floor of the Lucky 38, gazing out over the city he had conquered and named his Rome. "Leave us," Caesar bid his Praetorian Guard. They bowed and departed the room without question.

"You asked to see me," the courier said nervously, shifting their weight from foot to foot. They had changed clothes, and no trace of blood remained on them.

"I did." Caesar beckoned them to the window next to him. They stood in silence for a moment, watching the lights wink below.

"I'm a well-read man, courier," Caesar said finally. "I know the legends of the Old World, and I recognize the marks of one of their nightmares in you. I order you to tell me the truth: Do you fit the full definition of the creature they called 'vampire,' or do you simply mimic the things to add to your fearsome affect?"

The courier didn't answer right away. When they did, their voice was soft. "I pretend to be nothing. I am what I am."

"And everything that comes with it?" Caesar pressed. "Darkness, the blood of the innocent, eternity?"

"Yes."

Caesar turned to face them fully. "Then I, Almighty Caesar, command you to make me as you are."

Yes Man: "Now that's a twist I didn't see coming!" Yes Man said, his happy tone only slightly tempered with uncertainty. "Boy, am I glad I don't have a circulatory system right now!"

The courier shushed the Securitron and looked around the alley surreptitiously. "Yes Man, I swear to god, if you blow my cover I'm disassembling you."

"As I've told you before, I can't technically die!" Yes Man reassured them. "And I certainly wouldn't want to endanger you and your hobbies, but my volume mixer is tied to my enthusiasm simulator and I can't adjust it! You'll just have to hope any passersby aren't interested in following my friendly voice into an alley!"

"Then go back to the Lucky 38 and we'll talk later," the courier insisted, through gritted teeth.

"I technically never left! But if you mean this Securitron, sure thing!" Yes Man zoomed away on his single wheel, whistling the whole way back to the casino where the rest of his consciousness was housed. He kept whistling as he ran probability algorithms, only pausing when the courier returned after a few hours and crossed their arms in front of his main screen.

"Hi there!" he said joyfully. "I've just been cross-checking Mr. House's records on noteworthy disappearances in the Strip, and I've flagged eight of them as potentially being connected to you! I don't want to assume your intentions, but if you don't want to be found out, I've developed a plan for choosing your next victims that will help you remain undetected in New Vegas for 184 years! Give or take a few!"

The courier put their head in their hand and sighed.

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stevesharrlngtons · 4 years

Text

pin prick and needle sticks.

roman godfrey x reader

summary: your solution for roman’s feeding problem is met with some resistance.

word count: 3.9k

a/n: ya im having so much fun writing again so hopefully there will be more! i hope you enjoy and if you do, pls give me some feedback (-:

also this is a repost bc this wasn’t showing up in tags

When you strode into Dr. Pryce’s office, he didn’t try to hide his surprise at your uncharacteristic appearance.

“Ms. (Y/L/N)! This is surely an unexpected visit.” Pryce pushed out of his desk chair to meet you in the middle of the large glass room.

“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” You say politely as Johann takes the coat that’s folded over your arm.

“No, not presently. I was just about to wrap up some paperwork and go to lunch.”

“Well, I won’t keep you long. I am hoping my question has a simple enough answer.” You say as you take a seat in one of the visitors chairs across from his desk.

“So, you are looking for my expertise on a matter?” Pryce asks, taking his own seat now.

“Yes, and maybe a small favor depending on your answer.” You smile, trying to seem as sweet as possible.

You knew Johann was asked for wild favors and cover ups where the Godfrey family was concerned constantly, almost on the daily. You wanted him to be receptive to your idea and not shoot you down before he heard your pitch.

Pryce was tolerant of your presence and occasionally even fond of your acquaintance when Roman needed him for something or another. You were very bright and amiable company.

He sighs deeply, already seeming resistant, “Is this a Roman related favor?”

“Yes, but not in the way you think. It’s more like a gift I need your help in giving.”

Johann looked extremely perplexed as he placed his laced fingers on his desktop, “Now I am very intrigued. Please, proceed,”

“You are aware that Roman has been having some trouble sourcing food. Right?” You try to say everything as delicately as possible, even though you knew Pryce knew about Roman’s situation in full. Probably even more than you knew.

“Yes, I am. Unfortunately Olivia forbids me to speak with him on the matter before she does, and she refuses to do so until Roman goes to her for help.”

“Withholding access to food, sounds like an award winning mother if you ask me.”

Johann chuckles, “Yes, Olivia is nothing but selfless.”

“Selfless and maternal.”

Pryce laughs again before he asks you what is the nature of your visit in relation to Roman and his upirism.

“Like all things in Roman’s life that are broken, I have found the solution to fix them. In this case, I have decided that I will take my blood and give it to him. As much as I can give, so he will never have to worry about where to feed again.” You said this with a self assured expression, elated that you had come up with a way to help your love.

The true extent of Roman’s feeding problem had become apparent one night while you were making love.

Roman sat on his knees, your legs around his waist while he pressed his hips deliciously into yours. He had set a gentle rhythm of thrusts, ones that were illicting your mewls and calls of his name from your lips. While you were reveling in your pleasure, Roman was trembling. Desire filming his eyes as they transfixed on your jugular. He couldn’t tear his eyes away from the faint thrum in your neck, your voice becoming hazy and distant as his mouth watered at the sight of your craned neck below him. It wasn’t until you grabbed his cheeks that he snapped from his thirsty stupor.

Roman tumbled off your naked form to the floor of the bedroom unceremoniously, skirting away from you until his back reached the wall, the farthest wall from the bed. You had sat up, not bothering to cover yourself as you stared at your crumpled boyfriend, who shook and stammered under his breath.

“I can’t, OK? We can’t! Not until I feed again. I don’t think I can control it- I can’t control myself.”

“Baby, it’s going to be fine. I know you would never hurt me,” You push away the remains of crumpled sheets and begin toward him, but Roman flinches aggressively.

“I can’t help it, no matter how much I don’t want too, I will. I would kill you just for a taste and I would hate myself forever.”

You wanted to offer yourself up on a silver platter then and there. Ask him to drink from you because even if he doubted his control, you knew he would stop feeding before you were in any semblance of danger. You just wanted to make him feel better, in any way you could. But, as Roman wove his hands into his hair and tugged ruthlessly at the roots, it was clear that this wasn’t going to become an argument, or even a conversation. Roman left the bedroom soon after, muttering something about the refrigerator and leeches, while you watched him leave with an ache in your chest.

You had been trying to figure out the best possible solution to Roman’s problem since. After contemplating many different avenues, you concluded that you weren’t a bank robber (even if it was just a blood bank) and hiring someone from Craigslist seemed too risky (and too weird). So, you had fallen back on your original idea from that night: Roman would drink from you.

“To be clear, you want to extract your own blood and stockpile it for Roman?”

“Exactly. I just need to know how to do it and how much I can give per week without dying of iron deficiency or something.” You nonchalantly reply.

“This is very noble of you to do, (Y/N).”

You wave a dismissive hand at his compliment, “I just want to help him in the best way I can. It’s what you do for the people you love.”

Pryce stares at you for a moment, and begins to wonder how Roman attracted you in the first place? He was sure it was the young man’s killer good looks and the charm he held with the opposite sex that first caught your attention, but you were a smart girl. You wouldn’t fall for him simply because he was a blueprint for a Greek statue or threw a few saccharine words your way. He wondered if Roman was warm and adoring? Sweet and loving and soft when he was only in your company? From what Pryce had seen first hand, Roman was kind and gentle when you were around, but only ever to you. The second Roman laid his eyes back on Pryce or anyone else for that matter, he was back to an angry frothing terror to anyone in his path.

“When giving blood for say, The Red Cross, they take about a liter of your blood which is around 15 fluid ounce. You shouldn’t give more than that a mouth, but I could give you a few supplements that could help replenish your red blood cells at a slightly quicker rate so you would be able to give blood once a week.

“You would likely need to take breaks, possibly a month on and a month off? To make sure that giving blood this frequently wouldn’t take any serious toll, or have any significant side effects on the body.” Pryce explains.

“And these supplements won’t do anything weird to me if I take them?” You trusted Pryce, but only minutely. While you felt cordial with him, you still knew to be weary of his experiments.

“No, of course not. They are all over the counter supplements and vitamins that you can buy on your own accord. I would just tell you how, when and the quantity to take.”

You sighed at his answer and laughed lightly, “So it’s all good? We could do it?”

“I don’t see why not. I could send a tech to your home to administer the IV, and possibly if this method of feeding works out for Roman long term, you could learn to insert it yourself.”

“Am I going to have like, crazy puncture marks? Am I gonna look like a junkie?” You asked, the vanity of this whole thing only now coming to your mind.

“Unfortunately, there will be noticeable marks and possible bruises from repeated insertions. I could work on something to heal your puncture marks, as I said, if this becomes a main source of Roman’s feeding.”

You nod, mulling over the information for a moment.

“When could we start?”

Telling Roman about the whole thing never even crossed your mind. To you, this was a gift that you were going to give to him, and you loved the element of surprise. It was strange, sure, but to you, this idea of yours felt totally romantic. Some women gave their boyfriends watches, or flat screen TV’s, or let them put in their ass on their birthdays; but for your boyfriend? The man who had every material object he desired and every sexual need quenched? Your blood was a perfect way to show him you cared.

You didn’t want Roman to get just one bag for the first time you presented him with the blood, so you waited four long weeks to create your mini arsenal for him. You just took to wearing long sleeves around the house and silk robes right before bed to hide the little marks on your arms. Roman, still not at his most observant from his lack of feedings, didn’t even bat an eye at your clothing choices.

After your final session with one of Pryce’s tech’s in your home, you felt giddy. You had been keeping the blood in the outside fridge until you had the stockpile you desired, knowing Roman never checked it’s contents. Tonight was the night you were finally going to give them to him.

After Pryce’s man left, you placed your newest bag in the refrigerator and went back inside to change into something far more alluring than the sweatpants you adorned currently. This was going to be a special night for your man and you wanted to pull out all the stops. You had already directed Conway and Anna to make a four course feast for the two of you before you would bring out Roman’s surprise.

After changing into the tightly fitted black dress you had picked out a few weeks ago, along with Roman’s favorite silk lingerie set, you went back downstairs to continue to set the scene for Roman when he returned from work. You scattered candles around the room and played an old jazz record to soothe any worry or anxiety from your boyfriend once he entered your shared home. You wanted everything to be perfect, he deserved it.

As you finished and Anna and Conway were wrapping up the meal, you heard someone placing a key in the front door. You turned to see Roman’s tall silhouette through the frosted glass and you couldn’t keep the smile off your lips.

When he walked through the door, he looked exhausted. His eyes were haloed in shadows and he was gaunt, his pale skin pasty and dull. He looked about ready to collapse.

Until he saw you.

“Welcome home.” You said, a wide grin on your features.

“What’s all this?” Roman asked as you met him by the door.

“I know how stressed you’ve been and I wanted to set up a nice evening for the two of us.” You replied as you pushed his coat off his shoulders and held out for Conway to take.

Roman glanced over your shoulder to see the extent of the fuss you had made for him and his shoulders visibly relaxed, “You’re amazing.”

You took both his hands and started to walk back toward the table, “That I am, and I have a little surprise for you after dinner.”

Roman tugs you to him suddenly, causing you to stumble a bit in your heels, but that only accomplished to bring you flush to him.

“Is my surprise under this sexy little get up of yours?” Roman’s eyes twinkle with lust as he moves his hands down to grip your ass.

You hum with delight, “I guess you have two surprises coming, then.”

You lean up to place a lingering kiss to his lips and Roman groans a curse as you step away from his hold.

“But for now, let’s eat and unwind. How was your day?” You ask, pulling out Roman’s chair for him.

“Better now.” He grinned, one that was without smare or ulterior motive. Just a pure smile radiating happiness.

After you chatted about your days and Roman having bitched about work to his heart’s content, you both finished the delicious dinner that was prepared for you. You had moved across the table to sit on his lap while you both shared a chocolate mousse, the gentle ping of the silver spoon against the serving glass lulling you both into calm relaxation and sloth as you ate the rich dessert.

Roman’s temple was pressed against your exposed cleavage, practically purring with the bliss he felt.

“Thank you for tonight, baby. I needed it.” He sighed, turning his head just enough to let you kiss his lips.

“Of course, my love.” You responded, stroking your hand through his hair, “I’d pluck the stars from the sky if it’d make you happy.”

“Hey,” Roman smiles, poking your side, “That’s my line.”

You giggle as Roman prodes you, “Well, while I’m taking your lines, let me take another. I got you something and I need to go and get it.”

“You know I don’t need anything.” Roman says, squeezing you once more before you got off his lap.

“This present is something you need, trust me.” You say over your shoulder as you exit the kitchen and enter the garage to get the gift box you had prepared.

Was this all very dramatic? Yes. Over the top? Of course.

But you loved pampering Roman, so you threw all cares to the wind.

As you entered the kitchen with the rectangular black gift box held together with a silk ribbon, Roman looked at you confused.

“Jeez, what is that? Is my mother’s head in there?” He asked as he watched you place the box on the dining table.

“I wish.” You chuckled, dusting your hands off on your dress as you looked into Roman’s puzzled expression, “Open it.”

Unable to even guess what could be in the box, Roman stood up and walked toward you and where it lay.

“It’s not gonna be anything that’s gonna pop out at me, right?”

“Oh my God, stop being such a bitch and open it already!” You laugh, nudging him with your shoulder as you quaked with excitement.

Roman finally pulled on the black ribbon and slowly untied it, causing the sides of the box to fall apart and reveal it’s contents.

“Surprise!” You said, jumping slightly in place, barely able to keep your excitement to yourself as Roman took in the gift.

He just looked at the blood blankly, all placed in a row before him. His mouth hung open, but he said nothing.

“How did you get this?”

“Well, that’s the extra special part. It’s mine,” You gestured to the blood, “It’s all from me.”

Roman looked up at you, and the appreciation you’d thought you’d see written all over his face wasn’t there. Instead his face was red with anger.

“How could you do this? How could you be so reckless!” Roman raged.

Your heart sank with embarrassment and grief.

“I thought you’d like it.”

“Like it? Baby, why would I like you taking your blood to give to me? Do you know how dangerous this is? Do you!” You cowered under his voice, lip quivering.

“I thought you would be happy, I thought I was helping. Now you don’t have to worry about feeding or hurting anyone. I can just give blood every now and then and give it to you.” You responded, trying desperately to mend the evening.

“How did you even do this? How did you figure this out?” Roman picked up one of the bags and furiously tossed it back down.

You furrowed your brows and took a step toward your boyfriend, “OK, so don’t get mad- well, don’t get more mad I guess… but I asked Pryce-”

“You asked Pryce?” Roman shrieked, his eyes bulging from his head.

“Yes! But it wasn’t his idea, it was mine. The whole thing was my idea and all he did was help me and make sure I was safe.” You said quickly as Roman paced the length of the table in front of you.

“I’m going to kill him. I’m going to kill that stupid little prick and rip his cock off and shove it down his throat!” Roman bellowed.

“Ro, it’s not his fault,”

“It is! He let you do this! Indulged you! He fucking put a needle in your arm and touched you!” It was then that Roman finally zeroed in on the small circular band aid on the inner crook of your elbow and his face passed its red hue into bright crimson.

“Pryce never touched me! He had a lab tech help me.”

“Then I’m killing the tech, then Pryce, then everyone in that fucking nut house of a lab who knew this was happening and didn’t tell me!”

“Stop!” You shouted over Roman’s angry rant, “Enough! This wasn’t anyone’s fault but my own, apparently. I fucked up, I can see that now. But I honestly and truly thought you would love this. That you could be satiated from my blood and never worry about where the next source would come from. But hey? Guess I was wrong.”

Tears threatened to spill from your eyes as you turned on your heel to leave.

“(Y/N),” Roman called after you but you stuck up your hand to silence him.

“No, I just want to go to sleep. I’ll see you in bed.” And you walked up the stairs to leave your boyfriend stewing in his own ire.

Stripped from your dress and lingerie, you lay under the thick covers of the bed and mindlessly watch some old re-run of a sitcom. It had been well over an hour since you had left Roman in the kitchen and each second he stayed away was another second of heartbreak and humiliation. You still weren’t sure why Roman had blown up the way he did… sure it was risky, but nothing that you couldn’t handle. You were a grown fucking woman who knew her own limits. You had picked up the supplements Pryce had prescribed you and you had been feeling perfectly fine. If you ever started to feel any effects, you knew you would head straight to Pryce or your primary doctor.

As another commercial break washed over the screen, Roman opened the door to the bedroom and peeked his head inside.

“You OK?”

“No.”

Roman sighed as he came fully into the room and shut the door behind himself, leaning against it.

“Listen, I’m sorry about the scene down there…”

“I’m sorry, too. I should have asked you first if you would have been OK with me doing this for you.” You slumped your shoulder into the mattress.

Roman just watched you.

“I just… Roman, I really thought you would like it! I thought you might even be grateful. I really meant what I said downstairs, I would give you a star if that would make you happy, I really would. And I thought helping solve your feeding problem would make you happy, and it didn’t, so I’m sorry.”

Still Roman stayed silent, just studying you, wrapped in a coil of thick blankets. He soon walked toward the bed and sat on the corner, his back facing you. He hunched over and placed his head in his hands, gently shook it side to side.

“I was never really even that mad at you, baby. Just at Pryce, I guess. And scared…”

“Scared about what?”

“Seriously? You’re going to ask that?” Roman glowered.

You kicked your foot out to the edge he was sitting on to jostle him, “Don’t be an asshole.”

He grumbled something under his breath that you sure was unkind before he continued.

“I was obviously fucking scared because this could go wrong, alright? You could get sick or stop clotting or something! I don’t know. I don’t have to be rational when it comes to your safety and health.”

You rolled your eyes at that comment, “I thought I was being rational coming up with this idea, Roman. In my head, this would solve everything. No more leeches or starving or worrying that you’ll kill someone when it gets too much!”

Roman looked back at you, his eyes intense as your cheeks heated with your outburst.

“I just-! Fuck,” He turned back around, bouncing his knee, “I don’t want you to do this for me and something bad happening. That’s it, that’s all.”

You frown and whisper his name, just loud enough for him to hear.

“And because you went to Pryce and not me… and that no one at my own fucking company told me about this. Fucking traitors.”

You shuffled your way out from the blankets and crawled your way toward Roman, placing a gentle hand to his shoulder to gage his reaction before you moved to hug him.

“I’m not going to get hurt, I promise. Pryce told me where to buy some vitamins to keep me healthy and they have been working. I won’t continue if I start to feel sick. And if by some chance I do, you will be the first person I tell.”

Roman says nothing at first, but you knew he heard you. You placed a few simple kisses to his shoulder and wound your arms tighter around his waist, snuggling to him.

“I want to know the second you start to feel anything less than fantastic, OK? If you feel faint or nauseous or even if you have a fucking headache, alright? I’m not fucking around here.” He replied firmly.

A smile spread across your face and you pressed it to his skin, “Of course, baby. No more secrets ever again.”

“Yeah, yeah…” Roman trailed off with a sigh, but leaning into your touch.

“You know,” You started, moving around his neck to see his face, “I thought the idea of you drinking my blood was very romantic. Maybe even erotic.”

Roman moved to give you a quizzical look and you only grinned wider.

“Something about giving myself to you fully, running through your veins, letting you have all of me, you don’t think that’s romantic?”

Roman’s lips began to pull into his signature smirk, “I think I was little more taken by your erotic comment.”

You giggled and playfully bit his shoulder, “I don’t know, I think about watching you drink it… about you covered in it and knowing it’s from me,”

Roman was quick to grab you and manhandle you around him and into his lap.

“Yeah?” He asked, smirk persistent as his hands explored your body.

“Yeah… knowing you drink my blood, my cum, that you’re the only one who knows my taste… it got me all hot, baby.”

Roman groaned deep in his chest as he dug his fingers into your hips, twitching his hips up against you and making your eyes flutter.

“My baby, my girl,” He hummed, leaning forward to ghost his lips over your own, “You drive me absolutely wild.”

“All better now?”

Roman just chuckles, grinding you down onto him.

“And you’ll drink the blood?”

“Yeah, fine,” And he finally kisses you.

You knew that he was playing it off now like it was nothing, but the honesty you had shown him, and the utter devotion you had just pledged, meant something to him. It meant everything to him.

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soliair · 4 years

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Can Complementary and Alternative Medicine Help Fight CoronaVirus (Covid-19)?

It Goes Without Saying that New, stunningly virulent and resurgent illnesses have been escalating around the globe, with alarming intensity, and advancing more rapidly than ever before. This epidemic of epidemics, and now the pandemic of pandemics in the coronavirus (COVID-19) phraseology, not only signal a crisis in human history, but also the tizzy dance of mutual adaptation that we ‘share’ with our microbial fellow travellers. We have got only to blame ourselves for such a horrid reality and also complexity. We have brought the pathogen ‘wolf’ through the door by rendering and disturbing the natural fabric of our environment, while changing our behaviours and, paradoxically, by our ingenuity to increasing the length and quality of our lives without nurturing the nature of our soul.

So, how — and, most importantly, why — have we gone wrong? In the words of Arno Karlen, PhD, a psychoanalyst, researcher, and author, “for each new disease known to the general public, there are a dozen others; because, the wheels of biological change keep turning faster. The common progression of humans and microbes has accelerated to a frenzied pace. For example, much has been written about AIDS, but far less about other new diseases.” He adds, “our scientific and historical research is fragmented, like pieces of mosaic rarely assembled in more bits and patches. We have been slow to understand that we live in a new bio-cultural era. For decades, we cherished the myth that infectious diseases were fading forever. This was a posture born of inherited optimism.” Karlen’s words speak of one inescapable truth: about new emerging viruses, such as the novel COVID-19, and its disastrous, cascading magnitude that has brought the world to its feet, aside from increased microbial resistance to drugs.

You get the point. Without seeing our larger evolutionary picture, we cannot respond intelligently to challenges facing our health and survival. For thousands of years, since the first hunter gatherers settled in villages, infections killed more people than war and famine. New diseases, as is obvious, do not fall from the sky, or leap from some mysterious black punnet. To paraphrase Karlen, “parasitism and disease are a natural, in fact necessary, part of life. They are fundamental to the existence of everything — from the earliest, simplest organisms to human beings.” Add to this, international travel and technology, our changing diet patterns, clothing, other fads, warped relationships and work-life (im)balance, and you are witness to a hysterical wave of new-fangled epidemics. This has also led to the (re)emergence of a chaotic, also amplified, panorama in the chronicle of natural history of disease retold.

Savage Test

This is a savage test: where do new diseases come from, why have old spectres, such as tuberculosis (TB) and malaria returned with avengeance, and why now? This is not all. Think of the terrifying impact of measles and smallpox that trembled the ancient empires of Rome and China, not to speak of intertwined stories of leprosy and the assault of European microbes that overwhelmed the natives of America, including the flu pandemic that killed millions, over a century ago — or, the diabolical emergence of new illnesses, with weird names, such as the ‘old-new’ dengue, chikungunya, SARS Coronavirus (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), H1N1 influenza, Middle Eastern Respiratory Syndrome Corona-virus (MERS-Cov), among others.

It is vital for us to understand the complex and dynamic relationship that exists between man and microbes, in the emergence of new difficulties postured and challenges flung by new diseases, especially viral illnesses. “Every age of new plenty,” as Karlen outlines, “demanded a price of biological re-adaptation.

Diseases occurred in increased numbers when our ancestors left the trees for the ground; when nomads became hunters and spread around the world; when village life began, and with the growth of cities; with the start of global travel, and then with the Industrial Revolution; and, with the social and technological results of prosperity.”

Mayan Saga Revisited

When we analyse history, it provides us with a gloomy case of the ordeals of the Mayan culture, to highlight a famed exemplar. The Mayan empire covered 200,000 square km and lasted 1,500 years, what with its fabulous stone cities. Yet, a thousand years ago, the empire collapsed; the jungle reclaimed its ruins, and people returned to village life. Studies of Mayan bones and of the Mayans’ living descendants showed that they were clued-up for catastrophe by their ‘use’ of the environment and their parasites.” Is this not a gloomy, yet dispassionate, example for everyone to learn from — in terms of history and reality?

It is apparent that for a thousand years before their empire fell, the Mayans’ over-reliance on maize and beans compacted their size and strength. “The skulls of ancient Mayan children showed pitting of the orbital bones and spongy degeneration of the cranium — a classical sign of acute iron-deficiency anemia. The soil the Mayans farmed was also poor in iron. As a result, so were their crops and mother’s milk. Their diet was low in vitamin C — which the body needs to absorb and use iron — and, protein, which is prerequisite for hemoglobin synthesis.”

“The custom of soaking maize in water,” as Karlen puts it, “destroyed most of the folic acid and vitamin B12 (cobalamin) needed for developing red blood cells. Maize contains iron, but it also has phytic acid, which inhibits iron absorption in the intestine. The Mayan practice of stone-grinding maize altered it chemically, so iron absorption was further inhibited. Heavy sweating, unavoidable in the Mesoamerican tropics, caused more iron loss, as did intestinal bleeding caused by hookworm, tapeworm, and other parasites common in Mayan farmers. In addition, the Mayan diet lacked zinc and other substances (nutrients) needed for growth and resistance to infections.”

The situation today is no less gloomy; it is also challenging, but not impossible. There is hope, notwithstanding the continuing misuse of our ecosystem, flawed food habits, the over stressed hygiene factor, which cares less for our natural immunity, or immunology, and more for promoting hand wash, soap, and sanitizers, aside from the dramatic changes that has emerged in the biosphere. The irony is stunning. Our forebears had to cope with new diseases, and so did our Stone Age forebears. So did the first farmers and the first city dwellers. However, in spite of all the struggles and crises, they were able to survive the challenges. Obviously, we all will too with modern medicine’s much-vaunted, also spectacular diagnostic and remedial armamentarium — which has, ironically, been found appallingly wanting in the COVID-19 pandemic, so far — and, other traditional systems of healing, aside from our buoyant, if lopsided, immune response, and imagination, including our amazing ability to adapt and flourish.

It goes without saying that we are caught in a flagrant web — the repetitive episodes of health crises through which we are accelerating the escalation and extension of new pathogens. They, like us, are trying to acclimatise and survive. The best thing to do is — we ought to, no matter what, conquer a majority of the illnesses, or diseases, and make a prudent armistice with some we just can’t defeat, despite our high-tech medical and therapeutic progress.

Let Nature Be

The lockdown has ushered in a skewed sense of time. For some, time just flies, as for others time stands still. Literally. So much so, an event that happened early this year feels like something that occurred 30 years ago. More than that an eerie sense of trepidation also seems to crawl at the back of everyone’s mind — there is an element of foreboding that pervades the horizon too.

This is a time when modern medicine is groping in the dark, trying to search for safe, and effective, drug interventions and vaccines. The twist also is the focus, as a result, has ‘shifted’ to natural treatments, viz., complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), as also integrative medicine, among others. The premise for such a change, however, is not for thrusting the all-too-cliched magic potion, as some proponents of CAM are animatedly indulging in, but to ‘up’ one’s immunity in the best manner possible. CAM and other protocols have had a long tradition in providing that natural fillip to our immune defenses. This holds the key to fight Covid-19 from the inside out and to the best extent possible.

Natural Supplements

Curcumin has been extensively used as a healing agent — right from ancient times. The active principle in turmeric, which also gives the herb its yellow hue, is curcumin. Curcumin is nature’s antiseptic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial and antioxidant. It is evidenced to have ‘aspirin-like’ anti-inflammatory effects, yet it is relatively safe, when used prudently, than conventional or synthetic aspirin. This primeval element has been confirmed and replicated through clinical studies.

That curcumin has received a renewed ‘look-in’ as a natural candidate to ‘jazz up’ our immunity, ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, is no surprise. Some open-minded physicians have been advocating the use of curcumin for reducing inflammation in the lung caused by coronavirus and also as a possible ‘preventative.’ Others maintain that curcumin has the ability to augment our immunity and possibly help to curtail certain COVID-19 symptoms.

It’d be interesting to note that most conventional treatment choices help, at best, to reduce just a few pro-inflammatory cytokines — a large group of proteins, peptides, or glycoproteins, which are secreted by specific cells of our immune system. Curcumin, on the other hand, has the potential to suppress more than just a handful of pro-inflammatory cytokines.

Curcumin delivers other benefits too — it helps to cleanse, or ‘detox,’ the respiratory tract and combat infections that trigger cold and flu. It is a first-rate immunity booster for individuals that suffer perennially from allergies, sinusitis and bronchitis. It helps to ease inflammation in the upper as well as the lower respiratory tract — this alleviates nasal congestion, bronchial asthma and other related conditions. Most important — the antiviral factor in curcumin reduces the replication of viruses.

The use of curcumin has amplified in the wake of the COVID-19 storm — be it Asia, the Middle East, Europe, or elsewhere. Most of us, especially in the East, have been consuming turmeric powder, as a tradition, in warm milk. However, the fact is — the quantity of curcumin in turmeric powder is just not adequate, or optimal. It is, therefore, imperative that consuming high-quality curcumin supplements is the need of the hour — primarily because the dose of curcumin in quality supplements is optimal, also therapeutically appropriate.

Thanks to best practices and new strategies aimed to resolve the ‘poor’ bio-availability and low aqueous solubility of ‘regular’ curcumin, you’ve a select range of high-quality curcumin supplements to pick from. In simple terms, they correspond to scientifically accurate and sufficient dosages of curcumin ‘earmarked’ to provide optimal relief, from viral and other symptoms, and with real-time safety.

A clinical trial of ArtemiC (artemisinin and curcumin), a food supplement, for the treatment of patients suffering from COVID-19 infection is now underway in Israel. The study is designed to help address viral infections with inflammatory complications. Open scientific data on artemisinin and curcumin support the testing of ArtemiC in COVID-19 patients. The double-blind, placebocontrolled trial will investigate the safety and efficacy of ArtemiC, a natural formulation intended for immune-modulation. The purpose of the project is to effectively treat certain pathophysiological complications of COVID-19.

In this context, it’d only be appropriate, also imperative, to highlight the recommendations of the Institute of Functional Medicine (IFM), US, and its approach to the COVID-19 crisis:

1. Adherence to all health recommendations from official sources to decrease viral transmission. 2. Optimising modifiable lifestyle factors in order to improve overall immune function. 3. Reduce progression from colonisation to illness. 4. Personalised consideration of therapeutic agents that may: a. Favourably modulate cellular defence and repair mechanisms. b. Favourably modulate viral-induced pathological cellular processes. 5. Promote viral eradication, or inactivation. 6. Mitigate collateral damage from other therapeutic agents. 7. Promote resolution of collateral damage and restoration of function. 8. Treatment of confirmed COVID-19 illness (as per conventional standards and practice): -- May reduce the severity and duration of acute symptoms and complications. -- May support recovery and reduce long-term morbidity and sequel.

A coronavirus, such as COVID-19, as the IFM underlines, can be lethal because of its capability to ‘fuel’ a part of the inherent immune response called the inflammasome (immune system receptor and sensor), which can cause unrestrained discharge of pro-inflammatory cytokines, leading to ‘cytokine storm’ and severe, sometimes irreparable, damage to respiratory epithelium. The COVID-19 virus has been shown to trigger inflammasome. It is evidenced that certain natural compounds, or phytonutrients, such as curcumin (turmeric), resveratrol, found in grapes, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), found in green tea, and quercetin, found in onion, are potent inhibitors of the inflammasome. Besides, such phyto-nutrients regulate inflammation. This is useful to counteract the COVID-19 ’hyper-inflammation.’ It is also suggested that such bio-active compounds may have the ability to inhibit the COVID-19 main protease, which is required for viral copying. Though supplementary research is necessary to prove their usefulness, the existing credo provides biologic plausibleness and systematic support for COVID-19 protease inhibition to support their use.

In an article published in Journal of Evidence Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, H A Mousa et al articulate, that, “in recent years viral respiratory tract infections, especially influenza viruses, have had a major impact on communities worldwide as a result of unavailability of effective treatment or vaccine. The frequent alterations in the antigenic structures of respiratory viruses, particularly for RNA viruses (Note: COVID-19 is one such virus), pose difficulties in the production of effective vaccines. The unavailability of optimal medication and shortage of effective vaccines suggests the requirement for alternative natural therapies. Several herbal remedies were used for prevention and treatment of viral respiratory illnesses.

Among those that were found effectiveincluded maoto, licorice roots, antiwei, North American ginseng, berries, echinacea, plants extracted carnosic acid, pomegranate,guava tea, and Bai Shao. There is scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of several complementary therapies for colds. Oral zinc may reduce the length and severity of a cold. Taking vitamin C supplements on a regular basis only slightly reduces the length and severity of colds. Probiotics were found better than placebo in reducing the number of episodes of acute upper respiratory tract infections, the rate of episodes of acute upper respiratory tract infection and reduced antibiotic use. Alkaline diets or drinks might have antiviral properties as in vitro studies demonstrated inactivation effect of alkaline medium on respiratory virus.”

Astragalus - has traditionally been used to fortify the immune system and to treat colds, among other viral disorders. Some studies suggest that certain compounds found in the herb ‘upturn’ the production of white blood cells, particularly T-cells, macrophages and other cells imperative for immune system function. Astralagus has anti-inflammatory and antiviral effects;this includes a certain activity against a specific type of coronavirus that frequently infects poultry. In China, astragalus, alone and in combination with other herbs, has been advocated to possibly help prevent COVID-19 infections. The fact, however, is there is no fullscale clinical evidence that it can, like other popular herbs, prevent, or treat, coronavirus infection.

Green Tea - modulates the inflammasome while potentially targeting the COVID-19 main protease — in so doing, it reduces viral replication. Green tea has also been found to be useful in preventing flu in healthcare professionals.

Melatonin - may have an inhibitory effect on the inflammasome. This has led to the idea of using melatonin as a healing agent in COVID-19-like infections.

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC) - has been shown to be protecting in influenza. Says Richard Firshein, DO, a pioneer in integrative medicine, “Modern science offers (very) few drugs to combat viruses, but NAC may offer hope in this area. A study in Anti-Viral Research reports that NAC inhibited replication of the hepatitis B virus, reducing viral DNA fifty-fold. Exciting new research also indicates that NAC may protect the body against HIV.”

Quercetin - reportedly has antiviral effects against RNA (e.g., influenza and coronavirus) and DNA viruses (e.g., herpes virus). Quercetin is an antioxidant. It has anti-inflammatory properties; it modulates signalling alleyways related to post-viral remedial outcomes.

Resveratrol - is evidenced to ease the inflammasome. It has also been shown to have useful antiviral activity. Vitamin C promotes immune defence by enhancing a host of cellular functions of the immune system. Vitamin C augments microbial annihilation. Supplementation with vitamin C appears to prevent and also treat respiratory and systemic infections. Vitamin C has been used in hospital practice to manage and treat COVID-19 infections. Vitamin D supplementation may prevent upper respiratory infections. It may also ease, or alleviate, illness from COVID-19 infection.

Zinc - props immune defence. Studies suggest that it suppresses viral attachment and replication. Zinc deficiency is common with most people at risk of severe COVID-19 infections. It is reported that zinc supplements prevent viral infections; they also reduce their severity and duration. It has also been evidenced that zinc reduces the risk of lower respiratory infections. This obviously holds significance in COVID-19.

Other Options

Ayurveda is the Science of Life. It promulgates the bounty of nature in the maintenance of optimal health and well-being — and, not merely the absence of disease, or illness. Ayurveda’s extensive knowledge base on preventative care accrues from two models based on dinacharya — daily regime — and ritucharya — seasonal regime — to sustain a healthy, balanced life. Ayurveda is a plant based science. Candace Pert, PhD, the co-discoverer of peptides, our ‘molecules of emotions,’ referred to Ayurveda as the completest of medical sciences. The amplification of consciousness about oneself and the synchronization of each individual, as Ayurveda also emphasizes, can be achieved by elevating and preserving our immunity in accordance with the medical system’s pristine and classical scriptures. That the genius of Charaka (300 BCE), the first physician to present the foundational premise of digestion, metabolism and immunity, could so articulately describe the contextual and also the ‘contour’ of a virus, such as COVID-19, is testimony to its great legacy.

It’d be heartening to note that the government of India has approved of a randomized controlled clinical trial to assess the efficacy of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) as a potential preventative intervention among healthcare professionals and high-risk coronavirus population vis-à-vis hydroxychloroquine. The joint initiative of the ministries of Ayush, health, science and technology, through the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), with technical support from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), will encompass formulated and designed clinical research protocols for prophylactic studies and add-on interventions in COVID-19 positive cases through review and consultative process of experts of high repute from different organisations across the country. The purpose is to analyse and study different interventions — viz., ashwagandha, yashtimadhu (Glycyrrhiza glabra), guduchi (Tinospora cordifolia), pippali (Long pepper) and a poly-herbal formulation (Ayush-64).

This isn’t all. The Ayurvedic formula Fifatrol is reported to act as an immune booster. The natural formula is a multi-drug combination of Ayurvedic classical medicines and herbs. Research suggests that Fifatrol acts as a natural antibiotic and fights infection, flu and ache. It is evidenced that Fifatrol provides quick relief from nasal congestion, sore throat, body ache and headache. The formula also has micro-nutrients, along with a balanced combination of vital phyto-constituents, immune-modulators and antioxidants — this, according to clinicians, apparently justifies its beneficial effects in the treatment of upper respiratory tract (viral) infections.

Homeopathy is ‘bespoke,’ or personalised, medicine. Homeopathy treats the individual; it does not limit treatment to the diagnosis of illness alone. When you are ill, your illness has its own unique pattern of symptoms. You tend to get illnesses that result from the particular pattern of imbalance with your immune and other systems — one that is distinctive to your unique disposition and/or susceptibility.

Homeopathy is based on the principle that one can treat ‘likes with likes’ — that is, a substance which causes certain symptoms, when taken in large doses, can also be used in small (‘less is more’) amounts to treat the ‘same,’ or ‘similar,’ symptoms of the illness, or health issue. Homeopathy is unlike conventional medicine, where individuals are diagnosed on the foundation of just the illness, or disease — and, the same medicine is prescribed for each illness. Homeopathy prescribes a different remedy for a given illness, depending on a multitude of factors, such as the personality, or constitution, of the individual, their state of mind and lifestyle. In other words, the illness may be the same by name, but the presentation in no two individuals is always the same — so, they are given different homeopathic remedies that match their unique personality, or ‘individuality.’

Homeopathy has a long history in preventative medicine. Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), MD, the founder of homeopathy, was the first to achieve significant outcomes in the prevention and also of the scarlet fever epidemic, a vicious form of ‘strep’ throat, which swept Germany in 1802. He was also the first experimental physician to lay emphasis on the importance of preventative medicine. This wasn’t all. He was also the first medical pioneer to think of ‘immunization,’ when Louis Pasteur, the founder of vaccination, was eight years old.

To highlight a case in point. The flu pandemic of 1918 is reminisced for its devastating death toll. It was the worst epidemic in US history, with 600,000 people dead. Besides, the deadly flu took away the lives of hundreds of thousands of people elsewhere. The Journal of the American Institute of Homeopathy (1921) reported, that in Dayton, Ohio, the overall mortality rate of flu patients was 28 per cent, and in 26,000 cases of flu treated homeopathically the mortality rate was 1 per cent.

The homeopathic Arsenicum album 30c is advocated to be a useful ‘immune booster.’ Ayush ‘recommends’ its use in India. Camphora 1m — with its classical pathophysiology that corresponds to COVID-19 — has emerged as the genus epidemicus — a remedy identified for preventing communicable illnesses in certain quarters. There are reports that it has been used with ‘good’ effect in Iran, also Europe, and elsewhere.

It’d be interesting to note that with Bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) ‘making’ news headlines — albeit the credo of its ‘utility value’ to ‘easing’ the COVID-19 effect in certain countries, including India, is being debated — one could also, perhaps, think of a homeopathic corollary in the context. Bacillinum (made from maceration of the typical tuberculous lung) may, perhaps, be used as an ‘intercurrent,’ immune-boosting ‘prophylactic’ remedy, as also Tuberculinum (a nucleo-protein; a ‘nosode’ made from tubercular abscess).

The whole idea is, of course, ‘nascent,’ a probability premise. It led this writer into a conversation with Lionel Milgrom, PhD, the English chemist and homeopath, who graciously delved into its ‘nitty-gritty’ and formulated a possibility construct. Milgrom’s ‘take’ is simple, also reflective — if one were to ‘buy’ the so-called conspiracy theory approach and work on the basis that COVID-19 is a laboratory-based organism, then in order to grow and manipulate such a thing would require a substrate. There was this recently published article which suggested that the substrate for growing such a virus is bovine serum. So, there it is. Using something like Bacillinum and Tuberculinum — from a totally different perspective and/or the homeopathic miasmatic (constitutional susceptibility, or predisposition) point-of-view — would, perforce, make some sense, although its full essence and purpose may only be found, or established, by experiment.

The Society of Homeopaths, UK, states, that, “Homeopathic medicines have been used extensively for flu-like symptoms and in epidemics around the world. If you decide to take a homeopathic medicine, this should be in addition to the various measures recommended and should not be your only approach. Selection of the most appropriate homeopathic medicine is based on an individual’s unique symptoms.” The European Committee for Homeopathy says, “(That) homeopathic health professionals should inform patients of the standard hygiene practices to contain and mitigate the spread of the epidemic. They may inform their patients of potential non-specific measures to increase their immunity. Homeopathic symptomatic treatments offer a safe and cost-effective possibility to support the self-healing processes of patients and are to be considered (within the therapeutic tool kit).”

Other adjuvant measures that would be useful are meditation, yoga, biofeedback, and counselling — especially to combating depression, anxiety, and stress, aside from the undulating effects of homebound, ‘shelter’ living, or isolation, and social and physical distancing.

Best Regards Solomon J. (Ayurvedic/Alternative Therapist)

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** A New Hope for the Corona-Virus (COVID-19) Patients!

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audienceentertainment · 2 years

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Considerations To Know About How to lose weight

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dustedmagazine · 6 years

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Listening Post: Michael Cosmic — Peace in the World / Phill Musra Group — Creator Spaces (Part Two)

Following up on the part of the conversation posted earlier today, the Dusted crew continues to discuss these newly reissued free jazz records from 1974 Boston.

Mason Jones: I'm pretty outside the jazz realm, though in my years playing avant-experimental music I've crossed paths with a lot of free players, particularly the early '90s Oakland scene (Splatter Trio, Gino Robair, Pluto, and the like). I've dipped into jazz quite often from time to time but for some reason little of modern jazz resonates strongly with me. The expanses of this release that do, surprisingly, are those that breathe more slowly. John Coltrane's not my thing, but like others I also hear echoes of Alice Coltrane in parts of "Peace in the World" for example. Even though it doesn't really sound much like her work, it somehow feels similar. I dig the splashing, crashing drum solo in "The Creator Spaces" and find Ertunç's playing pretty evocative throughout. My deficiency in appreciating reeds certainly impedes my judgment on a lot of this, though, so I'll have to let others get deeper into it all.

Jonathan Shaw: Michael, by "otherness" earlier, you mean a form of alienation beyond being black? Something more musically mediated?

Michael Rosenstein: Good point! By "otherness," I was referring to musical practice. While the traditions of free jazz (and by the mid-70s, the language had developed traditions) were referenced by many of the musicians in Boston, they brought an outsider sensibility to things. That is certainly not unique to Boston, but it was something that certainly struck me when I was first hearing musicians like Voigt, Harvey, Davidson, and Smart (to name a few).

Jonathan Shaw: So interesting to think of a music that wants to articulate some principle of "freedom" developing traditions. Tradition isn't intrinsically reactionary, but that's the way the term often gets used these days—I think especially of how the term resonates in the Traditional Workers' Party. Assholes.

What's freedom's outside? Where can we hear it on these records? I don't know who coined the term "free jazz" and to what extent that usage of free speaks to other forms of Africanist and African American identity construction in 20th century culture; as I noted somewhere above, my sense of "free" in free jazz is liberatory, but in a nationalist sense, black as essentially other than white, and decidedly other than European. But that's not the only way to conceptualize things. Back in the 1920s, Alain Locke argued that black Americans were best positioned to fully embody the country's ethos of freedom and liberty, precisely because blacks understood the opposite of freedom and liberty like no one else. For some reason, I think Locke would be more attracted to Cosmic/Musra's music than he would to Archie Shepp c. 1970 or Braxton.

Derek Taylor: I’m not sure on the origin of the phrase “free jazz” earlier than Ornette’s composition/album of the same name, but that’s when it really started to gain traction as a descriptor. While the “free” is in there, so is “jazz” denoting a foundational framework around which the free elements center and revolve. The specifically Nationalist leanings came shortly after and were confounded in part by the prominent place of white players in the music: Charlie Haden w/ Ornette, Roswell Rudd w/ Archie Shepp, Alan Silva, etc. The free musical elements that Cosmic and Musra employ definitely sound on that axis to my ears while bringing in aspects in part apart from jazz tradition as well (the zurna, African/Latin percussion instruments, etc.)

Any musical idiom that has historical legs is naturally going to develop traditions. Even music as resolutely non-idiomatic as free improvisation has developed recognizable vocabularies over the years through the repeated use of extended techniques and other tools (a reason why Derek Bailey, despite his protestations against precedence and familiarity, is usually instantly recognizable). Tradition in the context of Cosmic/Musric seems like a way of preserving, celebrating older means of musical expression outside Western, or more ambiguously white, cultural standards. But I don't get the feeling that they're doing it from a position of any overt animosity or concerted resistance, but more from a place of naturalness and positivity.

Mason Jones: When I hear "free jazz" or "free music" I also inevitably think of LAFMS, which was coming at "free music" from a very different angle than the jazz cats, though with a lot of sympathy both ways. They were looking to unmoor music from pretty much all frameworks, while I still think of free jazz as identifiably "jazz" — it's leaving behind the traditions but somehow still employing a lot of the same thinking. The Cosmic/Musra set is undeniably jazz even at its most outré, and to me feels only partially "free" in this context. I agree that it doesn't sound reactionary, so I might say that it's aimed towards freedom of expression rather than freedom *from* anything, if you know what I mean.

Jonathan Shaw: Probably also worth noting that a bunch of free players had good times in Europe—Cecil Taylor, Art Ensemble of Chicago, Don Cherry.

Bill Meyer: When musicians operate from a jazz foundation, and when they think what they are doing continues to relate non-antagonistically to jazz, you have free jazz. European free improvisation was started by people who loved jazz, but felt that they could not contribute in a culturally primary way. To be a Briton or European who loved jazz was to love something that came from somewhere else, but they wanted to take the example of serious aesthetic advancement that they saw in Ornette/Coltrane/etc to heart. Some of them (Paul Lytton, I believe, has talked a lot about this) very self consciously cut themselves off from playing music they really loved in order to grow. Others were aware of not being a part of it but continued to use it as a touchstone - Evan Parker for example. And Brotzmann sees himself as a jazz musician, I think, even though he's quite willing to step outside of jazz.

Cosmic/Musra, I think, come from a specifically African-American angle. Presumably they aspired to play jazz before they arrived at the music that they play on this set. The beyond-jazz aspects of their music relates to a divergent stream of jazz (Sun Ra, John and Alice Coltrane, Pharoah Sanders, the AACM) that was reflects ways of expressing and defining identity that were current in the African-Amerian community. As a whole, this music reflects an interest in Africa and non-European cultural, a disinclination to accept mainstream narratives and perspectives at face value, and a valuation of strongly felt/expressed spirituality that made a lot of room for the esoteric.

Derek Taylor: There’s definitely a lot of anecdotal history in support of Jonathan’s point about Stateside versus European experiences for ex-pat free jazz players and jazz players in general. But it wasn’t all rosy for them either. Ayler (in)famously got booed and worse at stops on his first European tour and Coltrane/Dolphy were hit with critical devaluations even earlier for the avenues they opted to explore. That makes the brothers experiences intriguing by contrast. Yes, they came later after the groundwork had been established by forebearers, but they still experienced a pretty uniformly positive response to what they were doing, at least in Chicago and Boston, if not L.A.

Brötzmann’s relationship with and to jazz has been contentious throughout his career. I don’t think he has much use for the term as a descriptor for what he does and hasn’t for quite some time, although his own listening habits apparently tend toward the classicists (Sidney Bechet, Coleman Hawkins, etc. who were themselves somewhat ironically the revolutionaries in their day). Parker’s much more open about acknowledging and embracing his debts (to Coltrane especially).

I get the feeling that Cosmic/Musra’s core musical beliefs came out of the AACM. It’s where they ostensibly really learned to play their instruments. Musra tells the story of Roscoe Mitchell recruiting him, clarinet in hand, right of the beach. Earlier influences were in the African American church (both sang in the choir) and by proxy their father’s record collection/musical interests. So right off the bat neither was coming from any sort of traditional pedagogy, jazz or otherwise. They were steeped in the divergent stream Bill mentions almost from the start.

Jonathan Shaw: Thanks for the context, Derek. You mention the positive response the brothers' records got. Is that response recorded anywhere? Were any prominent jazz critics and/or thinkers writing about the brothers in the 1970s? It would be interesting to see how their contemporaries processed the sounds.

Bill Meyer: I think it's interesting to think about what we mean when we say tradition and what the brothers might have thought tradition meant. Free jazz in all its stripes was the New Thing, and the influences we've noted would have been, for the brothers, music from the last five or ten years. On the other hand we can think of a free jazz tradition because free jazz has been a label as long or longer than most of us have been alive.

Derek Taylor: Good questions, Jonathan & Bill. I was going off of Clifford Allen’s notes & other contextual information available over at his blog Ni Kantu. He’s talked/corresponded with Musra over the years and has gathered a lot of anecdotal context, although I get the impression that the positive response(s) as described was more at the audience/community level rather than a critical or establishment one. Lots of gigs, but pretty much under the radar of the conventional jazz/music press, although I could be mistaken.

The AACM was founded (at least formally) in May of 1965, which would mean that it was it was less than two years old when Mitchell ran into a teen-aged Musra on the beach. Hardly time enough to establish tradition in an orthodox sense. That in turn seems to imply that the traditions the brothers were interested in exploring were older, non-Western and not strictly observed, but rather interpretative jumping off points. It doesn’t sound like their formal instruction prior to AACM enrolment was very extensive at all.

Michael Rosenstein: I wouldn't say that their records got particularly positive responses when they came out. They came out in such limited runs and distribution was so localized at the time. But they definitely played out a fair bit in Boston based on the documentation provided in Mark Harvey's book. There is a flyer that is reproduced from Spring 1974 that lists the following:

That's nine gigs within six weeks in clubs, churches, galleries, universities, radio, and a festival! And there are enough other flyers in the liner notes to the CD and Mark's book to show that this wasn't just a fluke. This provides some evidence as to how much they were integrated as musicians into the DIY jazz and arts communities in Boston at the time.

Derek Taylor: Nice! Appreciate the specifics from Harvey’s book, Michael. When you say responses, are you speaking to audiences or on the critical/journalistic end or both? The grass roots aspects to the brothers’ efforts are pretty pervasive from the nature of the gigs, to their chosen crew(s), to the DIY-nature of the recorded documents. A large slice of their overall charm from where I sit.

Jonathan Shaw: I'm also curious. I'm charmed (wrong word, but hope you all hear me) by the self-released aspect of the records. I come from punk musical and social backgrounds, so my touchstones are Dischord Records, scene reports in Maximum Rock n Roll, zine culture, etc. It's really cool to see the antecedents of those marginal modes of cultural production in Cosmic/Musra, Sun Ra, and so on. As with the free jazz, the punks were trying to find authentic community that could buttress their resistance to social convention in art and in life. I don't know how self-selected the choice to self-release was for Cosmic/Musra.

Michael Rosenstein: Ahhh. When I say that the records "didn't get positive responses," it was in the context of national/mainstream jazz journalism. I also checked the archives of the Boston Globe to see if there was any newspaper coverage but non popped up. But response seems to have been pretty solid within Boston based on the fact that they got radio play (on underground radio/college radio) and played around quite a bit. I agree about the DIY nature of the recorded documents, but I also hear that really extending into their overall musical sensibilities. Like Derek notes, you just need to look at the range of musicians they pulled in.

Self-produced, self-released small labels were definitely relatively prevalent at that time for jazz musicians. I remember going to New Music Distribution Service in the early 80s in New York and there were shelves upon shelves upon shelves of records, a large chunk of which were self-produced. Nice to see that this stuff is continuing to be mined and released.

Jonathan Shaw: Not to continue to allege a comparison, but the proliferation of punk small labels in the 1980s (SST, Alternative Tentacles, R Radical, Dischord, etc) signaled a deliberate choice on the part of some bands to remain outside the music industry. Most of that came out of a left-ish, anticapitalist stance that was more or less coherent, depending on the band; some wanted to gain as much control over the production process as possible, for ideological as well as aesthetic reasons. The loving song to Malcolm X on Cosmic's record is potentially interesting in this regard: X stressed the necessity for black neighborhoods to assert greater control over their local economies, so that wealth could be generated within the community and stay within the community.

Derek Taylor: I think the comparison between valuation of DIY approaches in punk and jazz communities is spot-on. As Bill mentioned earlier there's a long history of jazz artists starting their own labels or having labels started by others to advance their work/interests. That tradition carries through to this day, but was just as prevalent contemporaneously with this set. Hat Hut was just getting off the ground in Switzerland in 1974 as a conduit for Joe McPhee's output, which had earlier been fostered by Craig Johnson's CJR imprint and Giacomo Pelliciotti's Black Saint/Soul Note ventures were launched in similar fashion to steward Billy Harper's efforts. All three were fiercely artist-focused and remained so even when outside pressures/enticements attempted to lure them in other directions. History is also littered with jazz artists who accepted major label overtures only to be dropped when the returns on investment didn't manifest (Sonny Simmons, David S. Ware, Henry Threadgill, Arthur Blythe, etc.). It's not entirely clear whether Musra & Cosmic ever shopped their work to outside concerns, but based the energy the put into their enterprises top to bottom I kind of doubt it.

Bill Meyer: Yeah, Max Roach, Charles Mingus, and Mingus's wife Celia started Debut back in the 50s. Sun Ra and Alton Abraham started Saturn around the same time. It was not new. At the time that Cosmic and Musra made these recordings, I can't imagine that they had a lot of other options. It was a rough time for jazz, commercially speaking. And one thing the punks and indie rockers figured out that I think the jazz indies of past decades never did was how to put together touring and distribution networks.

Jonathan Shaw: 1974 was rough pretty much all around. I've been listening to the version of "Arabia" on the Phill Musra Group record this morning, which seems to me much tougher and dissonant than the longer take on Cosmic's. Even the cymbals on the shorter version have more attack to them. Alongside "Egypt," I can't help but think of the Yom Kippur War of the previous year, formation of OPEC, and the consequent gas shortages in the US. I wonder what it was like performing songs themed toward North African and Middle Eastern cultures at that time.

Bill Meyer: Recession, gas lines, Watergate... they were not salad days.

Michael Rosenstein: There are a bunch of labels started by jazz artists like the ones noted above along with Strata-East founded by Charles Tolliver and Stanley Cowell, and Cecil Taylor's short-lived Unit Core label. But, as Derek notes above, I would guess that Musra & Cosmic were driven more by just wanting to get their music out than by wanting to stay outside the music industry. There just weren't that many options around in the mid-70s for jazz musicians. If anything, I would put their efforts closer to the DIY cassette scene. From the liner notes, it looks like neither Cosmic Records or Intex Records (the two labels that put these out) pretty much existed only to release Musra & Cosmic's music and then disappeared.

Derek Taylor: Interesting question regarding the reception toward music referencing North African and Middle Eastern cultures in the mid-1970s. I doubt the audiences Cosmic & Musra were courting evinced any overt ire or issues, but you never know. A tangent and a much later case, but drummer Pete La Roca (in)famously attempted to bar the reissue of his 1965 Blue Note album Basra (a minor masterpiece, IMO) out of the purported opinion that the title was disrespectful to American troops that had died in Iraq.

Jonathan Shaw: Interesting info, Derek. My grade-school memory of the 1970s suggests that anti-mid-eastern sentiments kicked up a lot after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. I don't know how extensive or intense anti-Arab feeling was in the 73-74 oil shock or to what extent Africanist/African-interested jazz music would have been on that radar of hate.

On a different theme: Michael noted earlier that "The Prayer," on the record of previously unreleased stuff, doesn't feature either of the brothers. From the album booklet, it looks like the only of player of note to the rest of the collection is John Jamyll Jones. The decision to include what seems a relatively tangential piece—especially one of such length—is strange to me (it's a lovely piece). How influential a player was Jones? How extensive might his influence have been on the brothers?

Michael Rosenstein: My guess is that the inclusion was to provide context of other music in a similar vein that was happening in Boston at the time.

Derek Taylor: Jones led the World Experience Orchestra, another Boston band of which the brothers were members and had strong strong ties to NYC. Now Again reissued two albums as a two-fer package prior to the set under discussion here. I was excited prior to hearing Jones, but came away underwhelmed. The music just doesn't hold together as well and the use of singers and less skilled participants is more pronounced.

Jonathan Shaw: That's too bad. I'm listening to "The Prayer" again. Appropriate that it starts with a statement from Jones. I don't usually respond well to flutes, but the solo (notes credit the playing to Stan Strickland) really lights things up. I wonder how thematically significant the instrument's gentleness is, with respect to prayer. The strings also give the piece a sort of rapturous quality. There's some dissonance around the 17th minute, but it's not a dominant tone. Also, the audience's initially confused response to the coda is pretty great.

Michael Rosenstein: Back to the notion of comparing these releases to punk labels in the early 80s, I think a better comparison would be to the local rock bands in the late 70s who did small-run, self releases. There was a promo e-mail that got forwarded recently for a reissue of music by the Austin band Terminal Mind. From what I can tell from the info on the site this band wasn't known much outside of Austin at the time, put out a few EPs themselves that sold out quickly, and then recently got unearthed. Jenny can probably think of a bunch of other examples like this. I think it was just reasonably affordable to pull together a short-run EP/LP back then.

Derek Taylor: The Numero Group has kind of made that sort of thing their reissue forte over the years, first w/ a slew local/regional soul labels and later branching out to include rock, punk & other genres, even yacht rock.

Jonathan Shaw: The tack Michael suggests is how a bunch of those early-1980s labels started. SST was originally a vehicle for Black Flag to put out singles in LA. Once they figured out that it was possible, they invited some friends along for the ride.

Mason Jones: Exactly — similar to Slash, Dischord, and so forth. Even Industrial Records and Mute, for that matter!

Ian Mathers: Speaking of getting in late and miss some fascinating conversation... I can give a complete novice’s perspective, at least. I was delayed partly by the problems of fitting in listens of this pretty sprawling set (or sets?), but I have been following the conversation with interest and learning a lot, and really enjoying those listens when I have been able to fit them in. I have virtually no jazz vocabulary to discuss these with; I grew up with Kind of Blue and A Love Supreme and loved the latter, and have been able to get into four Miles Davis albums so far (In a Silent Way, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, On the Corner and, uh, Dark Magus) and although I've listened here and there to plenty of things (including some free or at least freer jazz) and usually enjoyed it, for whatever reason jazz just doesn't tend to be something I put on unless I think about it. I feel like I should personally apologize to Derek here (who's writing about I've been reading and enjoying here for years!).

What this means is that while I recognize most of the names that have been mentioned in relationship to the music here, and even have enough context and/or fuzzy memories of having heard them before that the references have made contextual sense to me, when I'm walking around listening to "The Prayer" I'm mostly thinking that the part where the bass and violin are most prominent (my favourite part) makes me think of, say, Astral Weeks meets the Dirty Three. So I apologize for an fumbling and/or ignorant cross-genre comparisons I might make.

The most unexpected part of the experience for me so far is that I pretty much instantly liked the Michael Cosmic and World Experience Orchestra material, the Phill Musra Group tracks took a little longer and honestly still aren't my favourite (although I don't dislike them). I was struck by Jonathan's comment about the Musra "Arabia" being a little tougher and more dissonant, which I agree with, because both of those things would normally make it my preferred version, but in this case in addition to those qualities this shorter version just feels a little less... colorful? Listening now I'm wondering if this isn't partially the production or even room tone, but those four Michael Cosmic tracks, especially the longer first two, just feel so vibrant and communal and joyful, and the Phill Musra tracks just feel a little more... considered? formal (if that's not a totally ridiculous descriptor for any of this music)? restrained? And I think because "Arabia" is the only shared track between the two I feel the contrast a bit more there. That being said I do really like "The Creator Is So Far Out" in particular.

My favourite track here though, by far, and for some of the same reasons I know Derek wasn't necessarily a fan, is "Space on Space". I am a repetition guy and even though the actual music is vastly different some of my love for "Space on Space" comes from the same part of me that adores Oneida's "Sheets of Easter" or the loops at the end of Liars' "This Dust Makes That Mud" and Massive Attack's "Antistar" or the many 20+ minute tracks by Muslimgauze I've heard over the years. And here with "Space on Space" maybe it's the fact that there is that continuing element that allows me to more fully appreciate the parts of the band that are peeling off and doing their own thing while the looping musicians vamp in the background. It's probably the most viscerally thrilling free jazz track I've heard, although again my prior experience is minimal.

It's been a real education reading the liner notes and the discussion here about the context surrounding the brothers and their music, not least because some of that confirms the feeling I was getting from this music as soon as I played it the first time (I wanted to go in blind, just in case I wound up being overly suggestible). I definitely want to keep this stuff around, although in the future I honestly might split it into three, because the situations where I'd want to hear the Michael Cosmic material versus the more meditative Phill Musra Group versus the even more laid back World Experience Orchestra track here would probably be different.

#Michael Cosmic & Phil Musra Group #michael cosmic #phill musra group #now-again records #now-again reserve #dusted magazine #listeningpost #mason jones #michael rosenstein #derek taylor #bill meyer #jonathan shaw #ian mathers

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joneswilliam72 · 5 years

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Review: On Sulphur English extreme metal act Inter Arma deliver their most uncompromising statement yet

You know what? Inter Arma are tired of being inadequately (and reductively) pigeon-holed under the “doom” or “sludge” labels. On the other hand, they likely don’t give a shit either about the lengths you’ve gone to in coming up with a multi-hyphenated descriptor that ticks off every metal sub-genre the band cherry picks its stylistic touchstones from; blackened-and-sludgy-southern-hard-psych-stoner-death-doom-post-metal hardly rolls off the tongue anyway.

Pitched as a deliberate subversion of expectations, Sulphur English strips the band’s sound of much of the colour and light that they had increasingly let in over their past few releases, to send listeners careening, disorientated, into a dark and stormy night of the soul, with little promise of a brighter dawn. Make no mistake, frontman Mike Paparo certainly sings of his own soul across a few of these tracks, but that album title, and its none-too-subtle nod to the toxic discourse of contemporary politics, should clue you in to the fact that it’s America’s soul that’s at stake here.

In their mastery of long-form composition, their deliberate wielding of shifting dynamics, expert control of tension and release, and, yes, exuberant indulgence in genre agnosticism, Inter Arma have always been a band that merited the use of adjectives like “transportative” and “transcendent.” Sky Burial, Paradise Gallows and especially the single track epic, The Cavern (which I like to think of as the Bloodborne iteration of Inter Arma) feel like journeys, Homeric in scale, and despite the vein of misanthropy that has run through virtually all of Paparo’s lyrics, there was always a sense of escapism inherent to the experience of listening to an Inter Arma record.

Like the best post-rock, the band’s music connects emotionally by sublimating its slow builds into moments of jaw-dropping catharsis. But they’re also just a group of incredible musicians, whose self-evident glee at the sheer possibilities of unfettered creativity translates into a life-affirming, even joyful, experience for their audience. Which is why, putting on an Inter Arma album feels like an escape from realities both humdrum and painful.

All of that is to say that Sulphur English, by contrast, is not interested in providing escapism. It’s here to confront you with personal agonies and political abominations, and get you to wake the fuck up and confront our collective reality. Where Paradise Gallows opened with a prologue of pretty acoustic guitars and solo-ing worthy of David Gilmour, all in an effort to sonically conjure up the cosmic grandeur of that beautiful album art, Sulphur English opens like a goddamn horror film, all piercing whines and echoing piano. Named for erstwhile Lord Mantis and Indian drummer, Bill Bumgardner, who took his own life in 2016 (the LP is dedicated to his memory as well as to the founding member of Bell Witch, Adrian Guerra), the album opener is a howl of pain and anger, expressed in its back half via a solid minute of lurching riffage and crashing symbols, rising to a cacophony of bass drum blasts and all-consuming static. It’s a deliberately unwelcoming introduction.

The intensity doesn’t let up over the next few tracks. ‘A Waxen Sea’ and ‘Citadel’ are about as thrillingly blunt as Inter Arma get. There’s no slow build here. Just wrecking ball riffs and T.J. Childers behind the kit doing his damnedest to convince us that he is in possession of more than the standard allotment of limbs. ‘A Waxen Sea’’s appropriately sea-sick rhythm evokes being aboard a ship buffeted by tumultuous seas. As the song spirals to its conclusion, it feels like you’re circling the vortex of an unfathomably vast sinkhole. Paparo’s low death growl throughout is positively terrifying and animalistic, and yet the key lyric of a song that seems in thrall to the majesty of the oceans is about the placid tolling of iron bells. Calm and peaceful, this ain’t.

Lead single ‘Citadel’ is like a showreel for what Inter Arma are capable of. Stop-start riffing, blast beasts, vertigo-inducing, descending guitar leads, and Paparo’s vocals vacillating between the guttural bellows of death and the demonic screech of black metal, layered with effects. The lyrics posit the song as a call-to-arms, an appeal to one’s strength of will, to rise above depression and personal anguish. It’s a striking examination of mental health, wrought in Shakespearean terms: “Held captive by untold wounds of corporeal and psychic root/ Aloft in a storm of unseen anguish where joy and sorrow entwine.” The eyes-closed, horns-raised shredding of the song’s guitar solos could be interpreted as a sonic metaphor for the triumph of Paparo’s determination to overcome, but they sit so incongruously against the blunt force aesthetic of the rest of the track, that they almost seem to mock that possibility.

‘Howling Lands’, the final piece of the opening triptych, places full emphasis on Inter Arma’s rhythm section. Tribal drums dominate the mix before roiling riffs and Paparo’s blade-sharp shriek join to create an overwhelming wall of sound. If you hadn’t done so already, this is without a doubt the track where you’ll rise from your seat to applaud the job done by Mikey Allred, who engineered, mixed and mastered the record. The sheer sense of scale created here is immense, and it’s all in service to conjuring an image that matches Paparo’s words. In his most operatic baritone, he intones that the masses are digging their way to the centre of hell, as their masters (the 1%, presumably) pound their drums incessantly. And that’s exactly what ‘Howling Lands’ feels like.

When Childers finally relents, and the gently plucked acoustic guitar of ‘Stillness’ fades in, it feels like being soothed to sleep by the side of a campfire in a moonlit desert of the far-flung wild west. There’s an undeniable Swans vibe in the song’s gothic Americana, and more than a touch of Michael Gira in Paparo’s vocal delivery. If Cormac McCarthy wrote folk-inflected post-metal, this is undoubtedly what it would sound like.

Long-term Inter Arma fans will have noticed by now that they’re onto the fifth track of the album and not one song so far has come close to breaking the 10-minute barrier. The band have been holding back on the slow build approach because they’ve been too busy trying to cave in your skull; until ‘Stillness’ that is. A spiritual successor to ‘The Long Road Home’ off Sky Burial, and sounding uncannily like the beautiful folk lullaby of Paradise Gallows closer, ‘Where the Earth Meets the Sky’, ‘Stillness’ takes its time getting to its payoff. But when that monolithically sludgy riff hits, it brings with it some serious emotional heft. It’s as if the song blossoms, if something so resolutely indelicate could be said to blossom. Paparo’s voice resonates as if it’s bouncing off the towering sandstone buttes of Monument Valley.

There’s something deeply goofy about someone roaring the word “stillness” at the top of their lungs, but there is a certain sense of calm to the maelstrom that Inter Arma create. It’s brutal, unfathomably huge and loud, but somehow comforting. Released in an understated fashion as an Adult Swim Single, ‘Stillness’ is actually something of a thesis statement for Inter Arma’s raison d’être: Paparo’s lyrics, with their references to hymns and primeval songs, are suggestive of music’s power to both rouse and still the mind. This is something the guys in Inter Arma, despite their apparently irreverent approach to release strategy, take very seriously.

The band revisit the relative quiet of the album’s centerpiece on ‘Blood on the Lupines’, another gothic reverie, which passes by like a bad dream. Paparo’s droning baritone is virtually incomprehensible over an instrumental backdrop that can only be described as Lynchian jazz-doom. But pay attention to the lyric sheet, and what you have is an evocatively told narrative about an America that has lost its way. It’s deliberately obtuse, overtly symbolic and beholden only to the internal logic of dreams, but as the band gradually builds the tension, Paparo’s narrative reaches a head that is as unsettling as any of the more extreme instrumental moments on the album.

Speaking of extreme, ‘Blood on the Lupines’ is flanked on either side by two of Inter Arma’s wildest ever compositions. ‘The Atavist’s Meridian’ may not be entirely without precedent in their catalogue (‘’sblood’ and ‘Violent Constellations’ come immediately to mind), but the malevolent churn that the band whips into life during the song’s breathtaking opening minutes sets a new standard for chaotic heaviness. Childers’ performance is simply phenomenal, and Paparo is at his most deranged, whilst the contributions by Dalton, Kerkes and Russell feel less like parts written for and performed by bass and guitar, than an unholy noise summoned from the depths of the earth. There’s a period of respite during the song’s middle section but it is defined by a pervasive sense of uneasiness; the threat of being thrust back into the raging inferno of that striking album art hanging overhead. Spoiler alert: you get thrust back in. And then some.

Given its subject matter, it makes sense that the closing title track is the most aggressive song on an album that already wasn’t shy about how mad it was about a lot of things. Quite plainly an indictment of Trump and especially the GOP’s backbone-deficient willingness to follow the “charlatan [with the] forked tongue” down any outlandish, self-serving avenue he sees fit, in their quest for “power absolute,” ‘Sulphur English’ sees the band plow through passages of blistering death-metal, before slowing down to a funeral trudge to drive home the moral imperative like exasperated and weary blows to the head: “sever the corrupt tongue of the imperious fool,” Paparo growls. You can’t help but feel that anti-Trump demonstrations would be a lot more effective if protestors sounded like the Inter Arma frontman.

As the title track fades out on a cacophony of blast beats, piercing feedback and distended slabs of guitar, you realise that you now find yourself, silent and alone in the dark. Dawn has not broken. You’ve been on a journey through that black and blustery night of America’s soul, but you still have to make your own way out to the light. Inter Arma aren’t going to hold your hand and tell you that everything’s going to be ok. That’s why Sulphur English is lacking in the unguardedly beautiful moments that had graced Paradise Gallows. It’s an album that’s decidedly a product of and reaction to the times. Despite the grandeur, theatricality and sheer exuberant technicality of everything this band does in their music, the fact that they’re engaging with the uncomfortable realities of the present adds a new string to their bow and arguably makes them more vital a band than ever. Ever since Sky Burial’s release in 2013, the metal community has been hailing Inter Arma as one of the form’s leading lights. Sulphur English may not quite attain the same stratospheric heights as that record did, but, sitting shoulder-to-shoulder alongside the rest of their catalogue, it easily earns Inter Arma the right to be heralded as the metal act of the decade.

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2Zc3vqN

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ashaycole · 6 years

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Funny, sweet and self-deprecating -- exactly what we needed in the wake of the disaster that was "Batman v Superman." Made kids everywhere cry as they watched Superman give up his powers for a normal life with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder). There are different edits of this movie, and we frankly can't keep them straight. But the sight of a powerless Clark getting beat up in a diner made Superman as sympathetic as he's ever been. Has the standard origin movie problem of "too much story, not enough time." And the standard DC Extended Universe problem of "We gotta have a nonsensical CGI battle at the end." But despite those caveats it's an enormous delight, and a big step forward for the DCEU. One of the best of the franchise because it's really just a political thriller. The Penguin emerges from the sewer and runs for mayor of Gotham! It's great stuff, especially as we continue to watch the rise of Trump in our world. A happy balance of serious and ridiculous, manages to find exactly the right tone for this weird religious fantasy and a cast led by Keanu Reeves . They all seem to get it. This is the gold standard of Superman movies, and was the best superhero movie bar none for many, many years. John Williams' score soars, and so does the believable and compelling romance between Superman and Lois Lane. The film convincingly blended camp (in the form of Gene Hackman 's wonderful Lex Luthor), an epic origin story that actually felt epic, and funny lines. The scene in which Supes and Lois fly together is one of the most beautiful metaphors for new love ever captured on film.

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The goal to improve your fitness is a great one! Getting fit probably seems like a monumental undertaking, especially if you are starting from zero, but it is possible if you have the right information. The below tips can assist you in achieving your fitness goals. When you follow the advice below, you will look great and feel better too. When considering an exercise regimen it is good to think unconventionally. It isn't required that you go to a gym to get fit, because there are so many other different types of activities you can do. The best way to stay motivated to get fit is to find a plan that you enjoy, so make sure to do that. If you exercise while watching TV, you can keep your momentum going longer. You can walk all the way through, or do sets of simple exercises like jumping jacks or sit-ups on commercial breaks. Try doing small weight training while sitting on the couch. There is always time to squeeze in exercise. Investing in a personal trainer is a great way to improve your fitness goals. Not only will a personal trainer have a professional insight to share, but they will give you the motivation to stick with an exercise routine. A personal trainer will ensure you see results, although they are not for everyone. Wear clothes that are comfortable when you're working out. Do not care about what others think of you, just put on clothes that you feel comfortable in. Make sure what you are wearing is easy to move around in. When you wear comfortable clothing, you can concentrate on your fitness rather than on your attire. Always use your fingers to check out the quality of the pads on a bench before choosing which one to spend time working out on. If you are feeling the wood through the padding when you sit, choose another machine. If you can feel the support structure you may sustain bruising or other injury. This tip brought to you by tennis players will help you build strength in your forearms. On a flat area, put a big sheet of newspaper. Crumple the whole newspaper for 30 seconds, using your stronger hand. Do this twice and then do it with the other hand. Go back to your dominant hand and do it twice more. Don't forget to stretch your muscles out between each set. Make sure to stretch for about 20 or 30 seconds. According to research, those men who stretch between sets increase their strength by about 20%. Stretching will also lessen the chance you have of getting injured. Donkey raises can help you build your calf muscles. This exercise is very effective. If a partner is sitting on your back, then all you have to do is raising your calves. Being fit makes you feel good and contributes to better health. This can be a real challenge if it's been a long time since you exercised, but a little help will help you a great deal. With the tips you have just read, you can start working toward your goal of being in great shape.

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Canada scores eight goals in rout of Belarus at U18 Worlds Tonight at 7PM ET / 4PM PT on TSN2 NBA Playoffs: Round 1 - Game 4: Rockets vs Timberwolves Tonight at 8PM ET / 5PM PT on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5 NBA Playoffs: Round 1 - Game 4: Thunder vs Jazz Tonight at 10:30PM ET / 7:30PM PT on TSN1 and TSN3 Tue 5AM ET / 2AM PT on TSN2 Canada scores eight goals in rout of Belarus at U18 Worlds MAGNITOGORSK, Russia — Serron Noel had two goals and an assist as Canada cruised past Belarus 8-3 Friday at the world under-18 hockey championship. Jack McBain also had a three-point game with a goal and two assists for Canada, which has opened the tournament with two regulation wins. Canada defeated defending champion United States 6-4 on Thursday. Alexis Lafreniere had a goal and an assist while Raphael Lavoie, Jared McIssac, Liam Foudy and Ty Dellandrea also scored as Canada spread out the offence. "We want to be a four-line hockey club, we want everybody to contribute and everybody to feel (they're of) value to our group," head coach Don Hay said. "I think we're doing that. "Everybody has a real good spirit within our group, and we're growing — and I like that the best." Canada’s head coach Don Hay on the distribution of goals and offence across the team in game two, and what the positives are that he’s seeing in Team Canada to-date Ilya Usov, Alexei Protas and Viktor Masilevich had the goals for Belarus, which was playing its first game of the tournament. Colten Ellis stopped 24 shots for Canada. Belarus goaltender Nikita Tolopilo was pulled after Canada scored on its first three shots. Danil Veremeichik stopped 20 of 25 shots in relief. Canada next plays Sunday against Switzerland.

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What You Didn't Know About Vitamins And Minerals

Were you healthy as a child? Do you remember what you were eating and drinking? Do you have as good of a diet today? It's a sad fact that most adults don't eat as well as they did when they were kids. Check out the following tips to help you start feeling your best. Vitamins can help you get more from your workouts. When you add minerals and vitamins to your diet, your body will recover faster, build muscle faster and burn more fat. Vitamins and minerals must be synthesized to be utilized by the body. For example, calcium makes it harder for you to absorb iron. When you take an iron supplement, you should avoid calcium supplements, antacids, and dairy products for half an hour before or after. Any supplement which includes oil must be ingested with a meal. Vitamins like A, E and K are ones that are best absorbed with food. They work best if the food you are eating them with contains fat. Milk and the sun are great ways to get vitamin D. If you don't go in the sun much or don't drink much milk, think about a vitamin D supplement. Vitamin D is vital for bone protection and prevents them from becoming brittle. If you want to have strong and abundant red blood cells, you must get enough iron. Red blood cells are what carry oxygen around your body. Due to menstruation, women need iron supplements in higher doses than men. Iron deficiency often causes exhaustion and breathing problems. Riboflavin, or Vitamin B2 is found in many dairy products, green beans, popcorn, asparagus, and bananas. Deficiencies can cause cracked lips and low hemoglobin counts. Patients who get enough riboflavin may face a decreased risk for developing carpal tunnel syndrome, cancer, anemia, and cataracts. Eating healthy is important, but not everyone can afford to do it. Minerals and vitamins are a great way to ensure your body is getting what it needs. They are also budget friendly for the most part. If you have reached menopause, prenatal vitamins are not a good idea. This type of vitamin supplement can encourage hair and nail growth. This is usually safe, but not wise for women that have already been through menopause since it contains more iron than they need. Fruits and vegetables contain vitamin C. Supplements are a good choice if you don't get enough of this vitamin. This potent vitamin help prevent and treat colds, gum disease, acne, stomach ulcers, and skin infections. There have been studies that show increased amounts can benefit those with ADHD, Alzheimer's, and dementia. An adult who would like to take a children's gummy vitamin, should take more than one. This is because an adult would need more than the recommended child dose, so one will surely not be enough. However, don't take too many. That is not good, either. Fruits and vegetables are good for you. However, opt for fresh instead of canned versions of your favorite foods. You can add to the benefits of a healthy meal by taking vitamin and mineral orally in capsule or powder form. In the current difficult economic climate, people often neglect their bodies eating from dollar menus and other low quality sources of food which deprive it of the necessary vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive. Try grabbing some essential vitamin supplements to boost your defenses against colds and to help your body to boost fat burning. Now that you are living on your own, you must take responsibility for maintaining your health. You learned some great information here, and you should continue to learn more. When you know more about how to remain healthy, it will be an easier undertaking for you!

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joneswilliam72 · 5 years

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Review: On Sulphur English extreme metal act Inter Arma deliver their most uncompromising statement yet

from The 405 http://bit.ly/2Zc3vqN

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